Asterinia Starfish Feeding

Image Critiques Macro/Close-up Critiques
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Asterina
Asterina1200×1200 551 KB

What technical feedback would you like if any? Is the sharpness OK? I need to work on this in future shots with this lens setup.

What artistic feedback would you like if any? Comp?

Pertinent technical details or techniques: D500 200mm f4 + 488 mm extension, 3 flashes set at ttl, (1/250 sec at f9.0, Iso 400), Live View for focusing, Levels, Rubber stamp tool, crop to square format. Brightness & Contrast. Asterinia starfish are tiny (6mm) echinoderms that feed on biofilms that grow on rock and old coral skeletons. This one was caught in the act of feeding with its orange brown gut everted onto the aquarium glass. I wish that I could have gotten it sharper, but old aquarium glass loses some clarity as it gets aged with scratches.

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jameszablotny

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Jim: Sharpness issues aside this is a really neat piece of work on such a small subject. A :billed_cap:tip to you sir! :+1: :+1:>=))>

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This is amazing, Jim. To be so tiny, and to catch him feeding is really something. Would it be even better if it was sharper, sure, but I totally understand how difficult this must have been, shooting through old glass. I think the lighting really helped this, however you set up the flashes, because it allows me to see almost inside of him I guess, all the veins and stuff that I don’t know the technical name for, but I can see. Well done.

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Jim, this is quite the catch on feeding activity. The image certainly lives up to the “star” part of the name. You’ve got great details both in the stomach and in the arms at the top. Given the small size, I’m not sure it’s optically possible to get it all sharp in a single frame. Are it’s movements slow enough that you could shoot a few frame stack?

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Thank you for all the critiques. I examined the original image and the overall sharpness is quite good.some from lighting may help put more contrast along the edges. The tube feet are nice and sharp, but there’s not a lot of structural feature detail due to the subtle features of this starfish. Looks pretty cool though.

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outstanding image with excellent color, texture, and form. while I have no problem with this as is, I’d be curious to see if it is possible to increase the contrast in some of the lighter whitish colors. I have also tried to take pictures through glass and I know that it is not easy.

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